Veal

To delicately braise veal shanks, Persian cook Mahin Gilanpour Motamed simmers them on the stovetop instead of in the oven, ideally using a heat diffuser to keep the braise from getting too dark.

Marjorie Taylor adapted this creamy veal stew from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She emphasizes to students that it's important not to brown anything in the dish. "The end result should be completely white," she says.

"Grill masters all over the world have noticed that when you grill a piece of meat and then anoint it with some kind of fat, it mixes with the meat juices and creates instant sauce," Steven Raichlen says. "At Peter Luger Steakhouse, in Brooklyn, steaks get finished with a pat of butter; other places use beef tallow." In Tuscany, olive oil is the fat of choice for finishing herbed veal chops like these.

Chef Stéphane Rossillon simmers deeply flavorful dried morels then combines them with the soaking liquid and cream to make a luscious sauce for pasta and his hazelnut-dusted roast veal.

This lemony stew has a delicious mix of spinach, sorrel, watercress, romaine and herbs.

"I don't eat veal very often, but when I do indulge, I enjoy it," says Amanda Hallowell, who buys her veal from a local butcher shop that raises its cows on grass, the old-fashioned way. Here, she pan-fries veal chops in a panko crust and serves them with a tangy sauce made with crème fraîche and lemony fresh sorrel.

Marcia Kiesel uses Picholine olives and herbes de Provence to give this luscious cold roast a distinctly southern French feel.

Marcia Kiesel wilts parsley to make a clever topping for quick-cooking veal scaloppine.

Adding a crunchy coating made with bread crumbs helps cutlets to stay moist as they're pan-fried. Here, Melissa Rubel Jacobson serves veal cutlets with a deliciously fresh and tangy salad that combines watercress with parsley, tarragon and snipped chives, but any combination of herbs would be great.

This succulent veal breast from Cormac Mahoney is a show-stopper at any gathering.

"The sauce fits the pasta," said judge Marc Vetri in praise of this tender veal ragù flavored with white wine, capers, thyme and rosemary, then tossed with the little ear-shaped orecchiette. "The meat, the capers—they hang on to the pasta when you lift up your fork."

Chef Robert Wiedmaier gives butchering demos at the Butcher's Block in Alexandria, Virginia. At his restaurant next door, Brabo, he serves elegant dishes, like this veal chop. To make the wine sauce even more complex, use demiglace (concentrated veal stock) instead of beef stock and flour.

At Edi & The Wolf, chefs Eduard Frauneder and Wolfgang Ban serve goat-cheese-stuffed veal in individual-size portions. Prepared as a whole roast, as in the recipe here, it's a great way to feed a group. To give the braising liquid an even richer flavor, substitute 1 cup of veal demiglace for 1 cup of the beef stock.

Frasca Food and Wine restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, is inspired by the Friuli region of Italy; co-owner and wine director Bobby Stuckey serves a number of edgy Friulian wines. This veal dish is particularly good with slightly tannic "orange" wines like Gravner's Ribolla Gialla.

At Seäsonal Restaurant and Weinbar, Wolfgang Ban makes his goulash with succulent veal cheeks; here he adapts the recipe for easier-to-find veal shoulder.

Suzanne Goin covers this veal roast with herbs and butter before cooking to get extra-rich pan juices. They are delicious spooned over the exceptionally tender meat and served with the sweet roasted garlic cloves.

"Schnitzel and Grüner Veltliner isn't a very creative pairing, but I think it's a beautiful one," says Wolfgang Ban. He loves how rich styles of the Austrian white wine still have bright acidity, which is delicious with crispy veal cutlets.

Humanely raised veal is becoming more widely available at top butcher shops. Butcher-chef Tia Harrison recommends choosing veal shoulder or rump roast, which are more economical than other cuts of veal but still delicious. Harrison likes to braise them; here, canned fire-roasted tomatoes give the dish a smoky flavor.

These luxurious chops, stuffed with a brilliant combination of sliced mushrooms, sausage and pecorino, can only be improved by one thing: a side of crispy and creamy fried polenta.

This goes well with a cherry-rich, medium-bodied Chianti Classico.

If Daniel Humm were cooking in the northern, more Germanic part of Switzerland, he'd probably serve this spectacular roasted veal with spaetzle, but because he's in the southern, Italian region, he makes a luscious risotto with porcini mushrooms.

In this faster version of a steak salad, charred tomatoes add their warm, tangy juices to an arugula salad served alongside quick-grilled veal scallopine.

Roasting intensifies the sweet juiciness of the grapes; as they cook, they break down to make a fruity sauce for the veal.

These plump veal chops are stuffed with truffled pecorino cheese and thin slivers of ham, then topped by a tangy-sweet Madeira sauce. The four chops in this recipe sear best if you split them between two pans, but if you have only one good, thick-bottomed sauté pan, brown them two at a time; if you crowd in all four chops at once, they won't brown properly.

Venice-based blogger Skye McAlpine dusts her veal chops with flour before sauteing to give them a light, crisp coating. If you can't find beautiful firm plums, she suggests grapes as a perfect alternative.